Second Alberta Tory MP stepping down as Brian Jean resigns

Brian Jean in 2005 as the Conservative candidate for the federal riding of Athabasca

OTTAWA – Conservative backbencher Brian Jean announced Friday he is stepping down as MP for the northern Alberta riding of Fort McMurray-Athabasca. His resignation takes effect next Friday, making him the second Alberta MP to step down in the last few months.

Jean has represented the riding, which includes 50 communities and much of the Alberta oilsands, for 10 years.

“In every job, there is a right time to move on. For me, that time has come,” Jean said in a statement Friday afternoon, adding he was pleased with the economic conditions of his riding.

During his decade as MP, Jean’s primary focus lay on transportation and economic issues, as well as community funding and pipeline and energy infrastructure, the release states.

First elected in 2004, Jean advocated for federal funding for highway upgrades in his riding as well as changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act. Jean’s tenure saw the riding gain the most federal infrastructure funding in its history, the release states.

But representing the vast geographic riding required thousands of hours of air and road travel, he said.

“With the strongest economy in the G8, a positive decision on the Northern Gateway Pipeline and significantly improved regional infrastructure, I feel ready to step aside and allow someone new to take on the job knowing that I am passing it on in great condition,” he said in the statement.

“I am truly looking forward to spending more time at home with my family in Northern Alberta.

Menzies resigned his southern Alberta seat in November to become the president and CEO of CropLife Canada.

With Jean’s resignation, the Conservatives will hold 24 of Alberta’s 28 seats, with the NDP holding one seat, former Conservative Brent Rathgeber now sitting as an Independent, and two vacant seats.

Harper has faced a handful of resignations over the last six months, as MPs must soon decide whether they’ll run again in the next federal election, expected in the fall of 2015.

Former Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews retired from politics in July, while former Conservative MP Merv Tweed resigned in August to head the Omnitrax Canada railway company. The Conservatives retained both Manitoba seats in November byelections.

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